Affluent Buyers Flock To Bangkok Motorbike Show
Barry Russell
31st January 2011


More minibike glamour

The Bangkok Motorbike Show 2011 finished its four day run on Sunday, with crowds packing into the newly rebuilt CentralWorld, which was virtually destroyed by fire at the end of the redshirt protests in May last year.
The exhibition was spread throughout the complex, rather than being confined to one area, adding colour and metal to the world’s third largest shopping mall. Some of the biggest stands were outside at the front of the plaza, with KTM being the first to catch the eye with a wide range of machinery on show, including two funky looking Can-Ams and one which looked like the result of a drunken late night encounter between a Honda Goldwing and a Messerschmitt KR200.

Thailand protects its motorcycle industry with a import duty on anything not made in the Kingdom, as a look at the price tags confirms, with a KTM RC8R yours for 1.36m baht (US$43,600, or GBP27,500). Frank Quint of Bangkok Bikes Rental told me, “Import tax is 70% on any bike not assembled in Thailand. Kawasaki is the only manufacturer that makes big bikes here, so guess what? Our fleet is currently all Kawasaki! To buy a new ER6N will cost 245,000 baht (US$8,000 or GBP5,000), while a Yamaha Fazer 600 costs around 500,000 baht. Many people will argue the Fazer is a better bike, but the price kills those arguments stone dead. I can’t believe they’re not exhibiting here so people could walk around and make the comparison for themselves!”

The BMW stand also featured a range of million baht motorcycles. Barcelona Motor Sales Executive ‘Petch’ told me that the 1200 GS remains the biggest selling Beemer in Thailand to 35-50 year-olds, while the S1000 RR is the manufacturer’s rising star, selling to buyers in the 25-35 age range. New sales, he said, are up strongly on 2009/10. The story was similar on the Harley Davidson Bangkok main dealer’s stand, where ‘Pla’ told me their buyers were typically affluent business owners aged 30-50 and sales were going through the roof. The biggest selling Harley in Thailand is the 1200 Sportster, which carries a price tag of 749,000 baht (US$24,000 or GBP15,200).

Back outside the exhibit drawing the most interest belonged to Stallions, with its range of beautifully crafted (in Thailand) mini bikes. The bikes were adorned with mock-tattooed models, while next to the stand a team of stunt riders hung around waiting for their next show to begin. One of them, Ko-Ko, from Burma told me, above the inevitable thrash metal backing track, that Stallions had retained their services and were planning to start promoting their bikes in Malaysia later in the year. It certainly is a bold project and I watched a number of people sign up and hand over the 40,000-ish baht that each machine costs.

While the outside world these days tends to associate Thailand with political unrest, the economy is strong, with annual economic growth estimated at eight percent in 2010. Affluent business people and those who sell to them are brimming with confidence and evidence of their success is bursting out of the very same building that the world saw in flames at the worst moment in the country’s recent history, just seven months ago.

Image Gallery


Pitch it at a premium price, slap 70% import duty on this beauty and that's about US$43,600 or 27,500 English pounds!

















































stayontheblack.com